Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
  • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
  • B60R21/026—Rigid partitions inside vehicles, e.g. between passengers and load compartments

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a protective arrangement for vehicles, comprising a luggage- compartment divider which, in a vehicle, can be pivoted into an active position so as to divide two spaces in the vehicle, or into an inactive position so as to form an opening between the spaces, and to a coupling arrangement which is arranged on each side of the luggage-compartment divider and is adapted to engage in a mounting in the vehicle so as to form in this way an articulation around which the luggage-compartment divider can pivot.
• a barrier element such as a grille made of steel
• the grille can prevent articles from the luggage compartment being thrown forwards and injuring the passengers in the vehicle in the event of hard braking or a collision.
• the grille is fastened pivotably to the ceiling of the vehicle and can be pivoted up towards the vehicle ceiling into an inactive position in which fastening arrangements in the form of clips or clamping members mounted in the vehicle ceiling engage with the grille.
• clips are arranged on the rear side of the backrest.
• the clips are screwed firmly in the ceiling and the backrest, which means that holes have to be made in the ceiling and the backrest. This involves a complicated work operation and gives rise to a blemish in the form of holes in the interior decor of the vehicle if the grille and the clips are demounted at a later date.
• Certain types of vehicle are provided with a flexible safety net which, in an inactive position, is rolled into a space in the backrest of the rear seat.
• the - 2 - space is closed by a cover.
• the cover is opened and the safety net is unrolled in order to be fastened to the vehicle ceiling.
• the safety net can thus prevent articles from being thrown forwards towards the passenger compartment.
• mounting the clips on the backrest means that the cover for the space into which the safety net is rolled is obstructed, which makes the flexible safety net unusable.
• a protective arrangement of the type indicated in the introduction in which at least one spring element is arranged so as to fix the barrier element in the active position and in the inactive position.
• the invention also leads to it being possible to use a safety net which can be rolled into the backrest since no clips obstruct the cover for the space where the safety net is stored.
• Fig. 1 shows a protective arrangement according to the present invention in a folded-down, active position
• Fig. 2 shows the protective arrangement in a folded- up, inactive position
• Fig. 3 shows diagrammatically in a side view how a spring element is acted on during pivoting of the protective arrangement between the active and the inactive position.
• Fig. 1 shows a protective arrangement 1 according to the present invention.
• the protective arrangement 1 comprises a luggage-compartment divider 2 in the form of a grille 2.
• the grille 2 shown in Fig. 1 is made from steel tubes and is, on each side of an upper part of the grille 2, pivotably connected to a mounting 3 located on a vehicle ceiling .
• the mounting 3 is preferably made as a holder which has a hole 5 through which a coupling arrangement 6 of the grille 2 can be introduced.
• the coupling arrangement 6 comprises a pin 7 which is displaceable in the grille 2 and can be fixed in relation to the grille 2 by a locking screw 8.
• Fig. 1 shows the grille 2 in a folded-down, active position in which the grille 2 divides two spaces in the vehicle, such as the luggage compartment and the passenger compartment.
• the mountings 3 for the grille 2 are therefore located in a region above the backrest 9 of the rear seat or the backrest of the front seats depending on which spaces in the vehicle are to be divided.
• the ferrules 10 form a portion of the grille 2, which is arranged so as to bear against the rear side of the backrest 9.
• the grille 2 is fixed in the folded-down, active position by spring elements 11 which are arranged on each side of the grille 2.
• the spring elements 11, which in Fig. 1 consist of gas-filled springs, are connected by a first end 12 to the mounting 3 and by a second end 13 to the grille 2.
• the spring elements 11 according to the exemplary embodiment shown therefore act with a pressure force on the grille 2, so that the ferrules 10 bear against the backrest 9 with a preloaded force.
• the force from the spring elements 11 also acts on the coupling arrangement 6, which means that relative movement between the coupling arrangement 6 and the mounting 3 is prevented. The occurrence of squeaking and other annoying noise is thus prevented.
• Fig. 1 also shows two covers 14 in the rear seat, behind each of which a flexible safety net (not shown) is arranged.
• a flexible safety net (not shown) is arranged.
• Fig. 2 shows the grille 2 in the folded-up, inactive position.
• the grille 2 In this position, the grille 2 extends in a plane which is essentially parallel to the vehicle ceiling 4.
• an opening is formed between the spaces in the vehicle. This opening is defined by the top side of the backrest 9, the vehicle ceiling 4 and the side surfaces of the vehicle.
• the spring elements 11 fix the grille 2 in the inactive position, so that the ferrules 10 bear against the vehicle ceiling 4 with a preloaded force.
• Fig. 3 shows diagrammatically how the spring element 1 is acted on when the grille 2 is pivoted between the active and the inactive position. The pivoting takes place about an axis 15 which extends through the pins 7 of the coupling arrangement 6 and also through the mountings 3.
• Fig. 3 the grille 2 is drawn with solid lines in the folded-down, active position and with dashed lines in the folded-up, inactive position.
• the grille 2 During pivoting of the grille 2 between the active and the inactive position, the grille 2 passes through a position (drawn in dot/dash lines in Fig. 3) in which the spring elements 11 act with a force which is greater than the force with which the spring elements 11 act on the grille 2 in the active or the inactive position.
• the spring elements 11 in the figures are therefore arranged so that they are compressed most in the position shown in dot/dash lines in Fig. 3 during pivoting of the grille 2 between the active and the inactive position. It is possible, however, for the spring elements 11 to consist of tension springs which - 6 - are therefore subjected to maximum tensile force in the position shown in dot/dash lines in Fig. 3.
• Helical springs for example, can be used instead of gas-filled springs.
• the spring elements can be single- acting or double-acting.
• the spring elements 11 can, by the first end 12, be arranged on the vehicle ceiling 4 with a mounting separate from the mounting 3 for the coupling arrangement 6 of the grille 2.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Vehicle Step Arrangements And Article Storage (AREA)
• Body Structure For Vehicles (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=20411012

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Families Citing this family (12)

Family Cites Families (24)

• 1998
  • 1998-04-20 SE SE9801365A patent/SE514855C2/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1999
  • 1999-04-16 EP EP99925515A patent/EP1073567B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-04-16 DE DE69913681T patent/DE69913681T2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-04-16 US US09/673,731 patent/US6467828B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1999-04-16 WO PCT/SE1999/000606 patent/WO1999054171A1/en active IP Right Grant

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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